I don't think I would label this book as a thriller. If you come looking for a thriller, you may be disappointed. It's more of a study on the psychology on trauma (with a few thrills). The focus is almost entirely on these four girls, now women, who were with their friend when she was abducted, raped, and murdered. Once I adjusted my expectations, I really loved this book.

The story was so compelling. I wanted to know the stories of these women, what they were thinking, what they did at the time, why. It was fascinating. I didn't care so much about the resolution as I did just these people's lives. Every single narrator in this book drew me in and made me invested, which isn't always easy to do in multiple POV books.

One of the reviews on the back of my copy praises Minato's Confessions for making "the horrors follow each other as logically as pearls on a string" and I really understood that in reading this one. Despite not truly being what I would consider a thriller, there are a lot of horrific elements of murder, rape, abuse, etc in nearly every chapter. Yet within her writing, it all feels normal within the story. In another book perhaps I would feel some disbelief, but not here. I completely bought into this world and story.

I will say the storytelling structure Minato used felt very forced. Each chapter is a separate girl telling her story directly to Emily's mother (the girl who had been killed when they were children). The first does it through a letter, the second a PTA meeting, etc. I've read books that have a similar structure before and I rarely enjoy it. It doesn't come across as natural so much as a cheap ploy to make it stand out. But in this one, it didn't bother me much at all. I did notice it was awkward and forced, but I was so invested in the story that I didn't care.

I loved the mother's character, especially how she appeared to each of the girls. She threatened them a few years after her daughters death, telling them she expected penance or the murderer to be caught before the statute of limitations was up. Each girl reacted in a different way and that was in many ways, the crux of the story. Emily's murder may have been an important moment in all the characters' lives, but the mother's threats set the events of this book in motion. It was a really well done element and I loved seeing all the perspectives on it, from those who thought it was unfair to those who wanted to live up to it and others who had forgotten it entirely.

I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a discussion on psychological effects of trauma. I think some people approaching this as a thriller will be disappointed by the lack of climax and "thrills," but I loved it. It's definitely more introspective and reflective than a traditional thriller, but wonderful if you enjoy that kind of thing. This has me very excited to pick up Confessions.